RI Parents' Network's next free Roosevelt Island Moms on the Move (RI MoM) walk and exercise event will take place on Monday, October 19, starting at 4 PM (please note a change in time) at the Tram kiosk.

We are planning to do a short round walk to the lawn above the Mediation steps and continue with some exercise there. If it rains or everyone prefers to stay indoors we will go to one of the playrooms. The exercise part will be lead by Theodora (thank you!), with greetings and kind advice from Paulina from Washington D.C.

All moms, moms to-be and parents of children of all ages are welcome! The exercise part is voluntary. Please reach out to us if you are coming later and would like to coordinate.

I'm totally fed up with this situation. Today I stopped by the RIOC office and got as far as the receptionist who said "they're working on it" and to contact you. This has been going on for years and nothing is being done except we have to play hopscotch to get from the elevators to our parked cars. RIOC claims it's Motorgate's responsibility and they claim it's RIOC's job. The biggest issue is the proliferation of pigeon nests in the rafters, and those must be removed immediately.

Notice that the atrium was power washed and screening was installed to deter pigeons so RIOC could hang art. Yet they won't do anything to keep this crap from getting on our cars, our shoes and the wheels of baby strollers. Obviously, then, their priority is appearance rather than protecting the health and safety of people who are paying parking fees and taxes.

There are laws about this hazard in New York City. Does RIOC really want the unfavorable publicity if enough of us call the news media to report this or the aggravation of legal involvement if there are sanctions because of broken laws?

Can we please have a solution which should involve the following steps:
1. Get an exterminator to go through Motorgate and remove all pigeon nests from the rafters.
2. Install screening so the nests do not come back.
3. Power wash the droppings on a periodic and reasonable schedule.
4. Empower PSD to issue summons to people who ignore signage and feed pigeons and squirrels.
5. RIOC president to implement an immediate and continuing campaign which will include articles in the WIRE, signage on the kiosks, and flyers in stores, at the visitors center and on apartment building bulletin boards warning people about the health hazards.
6. While the NY City law about feeding pigeons is vague and confusing, there are workarounds such as declaring that it is against the law of a particular community or entity (such as the Central Park Conservancy). Since RIOC is the name of this town they are able to declare certain activities illegal and punishable by law.
7. Reminding people that feeding pigeons also attracts rats, which has resulted in poison being put down and has already killed squirrels and could be a serious hazard to young kids playing outside.

These photos were taken today.

These photos were taken Sept 9, 2015:

These photos were taken in 2013:

Please please please get this resolved.

Thanks,

UPDATE 10/19 -A RIOC Spokesperson responds:

We are taking the necessary steps to solve the pigeon issue at Motorgate and believe that with a consistent cleaning schedule, additional signage deterring people from feeding pigeons (including the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings) and eliminating nesting areas will help address the issue. Porters at Motorgate have increased the number of scheduled cleanings specifically for pigeon droppings on each floor. In addition, the Director of Island Operations, Cy Opperman, is currently looking into other humane solutions to control and deter the pigeons at the facility.

Due to a semi-annual mandatory Rescue & Evacuation Practice Drill on Sunday, October 18, 2015, one Tram cabin will be in service every 15 minutes from 6:00 AM- 10:00 AM. Please plan your travel accordingly. Thank You.

I hope everyone had a smooth school start and is getting settled into the daily routines. You and your little (and bigger! :) ones are invited to the next event in the free "Crafts with Kids" series by the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network!

"Halloween craft" will take place on Tuesday, October 27th, 5-6pm at the Senior Center, 546 Main Street. We are planning to make a Spider Headband with the children. First we can read some fun facts about spiders with the kids and include those in our crafts, like the fact that spiders have eight legs and (most of them) eight eyes. Each headband will be measured by the kids head size and each spider will have four legs on each side. The children can decorate their spiders as they wish. We can also sing Little miss muffet and Itsy bitsy spider nursery rhymes for our little ones.

A special thank you to Neha Sharma for taking over from Hara as our Craft with Kids organizer! Also thank you to Dolores Green, Barbara Parker, Wendy Hersh and Marylin Atkins from the Senior Center for letting us use their space for the event.

Please RSVP to eva.bosbach@gmail.com by Tuesday, October 20. Please let us know if you can bring books about spiders or Halloween for the story time or for our little kids book shelf during the event.

Also you are welcome to mark your calendar for our upcoming

Thanksgiving Craft on Tuesday, November 24th 5-6pm and our

Holiday Crafts on Tuesday, December 15th 5-6pm.

Last but not least: If you have craft event ideas you would like us to include in the "Craft with Kids" series, or if you have other ideas for activities of the RI Parents' Network, please get in touch with me.

"Crafts with Kids" is a free workshop series for children organized by the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network. The monthly events included "Tram art and necklaces", "Matisse for Kids", "Valentines Craft", "St Patricks Craft", "Earth Day Craft", "Easter Craft", "Mothers Day Craft", "Fathers Day Craft", "Summer craft - a lady bug" and a "Back to school craft".

iDig2Learn will host phase two of the Monarch Butterfly Corridor Project on Roosevelt Island on Saturday, October 17th, from 11AM to 2PM, rain or shine, at Lighthouse Park.

In the past two decades, the Monarch butterfly population has decreased in North America by 95%. Planting milkweed, the plant Monarch butterflies depend on, will increase their chance of survival. Monarch butterflies travel over 3000 miles from Mexico to Canada and back and they fly through New York City. We can help restore their habitat by planting the milkweed plant to create a flight corridor for Monarch butterflies on their migrations south to warmer weather every fall. If we plant it they will come!

iDig2Learn is thrilled that Citizens Committee of NYC has chosen this event as their service day and their staff will be on hand to volunteer which is a great way to find out more about what they do for our city. And thanks to grants from City Gardens Club of New York City, Citizens Committee of NYC and Grow to Learn this event will be free. And this event is only possible thanks to partnerships with RIOC, Roosevelt Island Youth Program, 217PTA, Roosevelt Island Parents' Network, Roosevelt Island Garden Club, RI Historical Society and Roosevelt Island Girl Scouts troop 3001 sponsored by Manhattan Park and troops 3244 and 3245 sponsored by RI Beacon Youth Program.

Please come join us to learn more about Monarch butterflies and what humans can do to help them. There will be free family friendly activities including the popular archaeological dig box where you can hunt for shark's teeth and fossils, story time by Eva Bosbach, face painting by Liyan Chen, butterfly themed art with Neha Sharma, and of course, planting milkweed plants for the Monarch butterflies.

The iDig2Learn initiative brings communities together with events and enrichment programs using plant life to explore science, math and healthy food.

Ms Delfico also thanked the Roosevelt Island Gristedes for providing assistance to local events including the Monarch Butterfly Corridor Project.

Blocking four out of five shots, North Brunswick native and U.S. Men’s Soccer Team goalkeeper Tim Howard racked up $80,000 for his charity of choice — the N.J. Center for Tourette Syndrome. Adding in money raised by fans retweeting sponsor El Jimador Tequila's hashtag for $1 a retweet, the NJCTS was presented with a check for $105,000 at Octagon Fields on Roosevelt Island on Wednesday.

Before the shootout, Howard, who was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome as a child, shook the referee's hand and assured him that he would “try his best.”...

I visit my aunt, Anne Brienza, on Roosevelt Island every Sunday. We go to the Chapel of the Good Shepherd on the island and then spend the day together. It's the church where she got married...my sister and I were flower girls. My aunt will be 90 years old next month, but you would never know it. She was the 7th person to move to Roosevelt Island in 1976 1975. There was nothing there at that time, so much so that she had to sign a waiver absolving anyone if any harm came to her.

I take a picture a day of my travels and adventures in the city called #TodayinNY. This was taken as I was leaving my aunt’s apartment Sunday October 4. The light, clouds, and reflections off the East River were just beautiful.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

... On Wednesday, September 9, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Operations Advisory Committee rejected banning bicycles from the Roosevelt Island Bridge Helix. Instead RIOC will seek to improve safety with better signage, road striping and education as well as examining if the broken Motorgate Atrium escalator can be fixed so bicycle riders can use it instead of the helix ramp....

During last evening's (October 13) RIOC Operations Advisory Committee meeting (audio web cast here), RIOC President Charlene Indelicato reported the results of a preliminary Helix Ramp study by Cornell Tech and their engineering consultants AKRF. According to Ms. Indelicato, the Cornell Tech/AKRF study concluded that fixing the Motorgate Escalator for use by bicycle riders was not an option but there is a possibility of installing a bike/pedestrian only ramp from the Motorgate Helix to the street level at the East Promenade.

Ms. Indelicato also noted that if it is determined to be a viable project, the Roosevelt Island Helix bicycle/pedestrian only ramp would have to wait until after the first phase of Cornell Tech is completed in 2017 before being built.

Below is October 7 letter from AKRF to Cornell Tech Director Of Capital Planning Andrew Winters describing in greater detail the plan to study possibility of Roosevelt Island Bicycle/Pedestrian only Helix Ramp.

Re: Cornell Applied Sciences – Roosevelt Island Bicycle Helix

Dear Mr. Winters:

Based on our understanding of the additional scope of work items discussed at our meeting of September 24th, 2015 attended by you and representatives from RIOC and AKRF, we request authorization to proceed with the following additional work items.

Introduction

AKRF is pleased to submit this proposal to assist in developing recommendations to improve bicycle access and circulation on Roosevelt Island, with a focus on travel between the Roosevelt Island (36th Avenue) Bridge and the Cornell Tech campus. This scope focuses on assessing the feasibility and cost of a bicycle helix structure connecting the elevated structure just west of the Roosevelt Island Bridge (herein referred to as “Motorgate Garage Level 4 entryway structure”) to the north-south service road along the East River – East Channel to provide a direct access to a proposed two-way bike path. Also, because there is an interest on behalf of Roosevelt Island’s residents and visitors in seeing short-term improvements, we have included a scope of work to assess the potential for immediate action pavement striping and signage improvements on the helix and its approaches.

Scope of work

Task 1 – SHORT-TERM TRAFFIC, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS

AKRF will perform a site visit to inventory the pavement markings and signage on the helix and approaches, which we will illustrate in CAD drawings. As-built drawings of the helix and Motorgate Garage Level 4 entryway structure are required for this task and are expected to be provided by RIOC. If drawings cannot be furnished, we have included a contingency task for AKRF to collect the necessary geometric data. We will collect a photo inventory during both day and night time periods to illustrate driver points-of-view during various lighting conditions, and the ability to see pavement markings, signage and bicyclists on the helix and approaches. The physical inventory drawings and photo log will provide the existing conditions against which current standards will be compared.

After a comparison to current standards and best practices for pavement striping and signage, AKRF will recommend striping and signage improvements, which may consist of new signage, new striping, scarification of existing striping, and removal of existing signage. To assist bicyclists and pedestrians with wayfinding, we will include signage recommendations to access the existing elevator and stairs. Although it is not possible to physically prohibit bicyclists and pedestrians from using the helix, additional signage in the short term could reduce the unintended use of the helix by bicyclists and pedestrians. We will illustrate the proposed improvements on the existing conditions CAD drawings. Also, we will provide approximate costs for materials and installation, as we did for the proposed Roosevelt Island Two-Way Bicycle Facility.

For budgeting purposes, traffic engineering studies, traffic signal warrants, AutoTurn templates, and other detailed analyses are not assumed to be necessary for this task since the existing lane configurations, traffic control, and approximate lane widths would be maintained.

Task 2 – BIKE HELIX ASSESSMENT

AKRF will assess the potential for a direct bicycle connection from the Motorgate Garage Level 4 entryway structure to the street level below. We will assess the potential for a two-way helix taking off from the north side of the structure and landing adjacent to the existing service road along the East River – East Channel, which is the location of the potential future two-way bike path. To perform this work, AKRF requires a copy of the as-built drawings for the Motorgate Garage Level 4 entryway structure and proposed landing point area, which are expected to be provided by RIOC. If drawings cannot be furnished, we have included a contingency task for AKRF to collect the necessary geometric data.

The various considerations for this assessment are material (steel, concrete, hybrid), allowable grade (ADA will be followed) and curvature, height and lateral clearances for fire apparatus and bridge inspection equipment, and width of the structure, and effective width of the path on the bike helix. We will conduct an iterative assessment where the geometric constraints (height, width, grade, and curvature) are first identified, followed by an assessment of operational options. Next, we will explore different operational options, such as a shared space where bicyclists and pedestrians mix, a facility where pedestrians and cyclists are separated by striping or a physical barrier, or an all-pedestrian facility where cyclists must dismount and walk their bicycles alongside pedestrians. For budgeting purposes, it is assumed that a preferred alternative will be identified through this process. If the assessment does not identify that a potential exists for a bike helix at this location, Task 2 will be halted and the Project Team notified before illustrative sketches or cost estimates are prepared.

Once a preferred alternative is identified, we will provide illustrative sketches from these two points-of-view:

The sketches will be rendered in color, showing the materials, shadows and dimensions in the same scale as the base photo. We will provide the renderings in .pdf so that they can be shared electronically. If production of the renderings on presentation boards or other hard copy media is needed, we will provide these on at-cost basis, as directed by the Project Team.

We will also provide approximate costs for materials and installation of the bicycle helix preferred alternative, independent of permitting and approvals, environmental remediation, land acquisition, and other costs. For budgeting purposes, structural, geotechnical, hazmat and other detailed site feasibility studies are not assumed to be necessary for this task since this task is the first step in determining feasibility from a geometric constraints perspective.

We anticipate that this work will be completed within approximately two months of AKRF receiving the necessary as-built drawings, or within approximately two months of AKRF’s completion of collecting geometric data if drawings cannot be furnished.... We appreciate you inviting us to meet with you on September 24th to brainstorm ideas to improve bicycle access to Roosevelt Island and to the Cornell Applied Sciences Campus, and welcome the opportunity to continue serving you on this important project.

UPDATE 10/19 - The October 13 RIOC Operations Advisory Committee discussed the uneven Helix Striping too. RIOC President Indelicato acknowledged that the striping was uneven, RIOC only had one bidder for the job, but the stripes do the job she said.

Are you a Roosevelt Island small business owner or consultant offering services that might be of interest to Cornell Tech? If yes, Janet Falk has some information that may be of interest. According to Ms. Falk:

Jane Swanson, Cornell Tech's Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations, noted at the Town Hall meeting on October 1 that Cornell Tech is working with several Island-based businesses. She is interested in developing contacts among other consultants and small business owners who live or work on Roosevelt Island. Please contact Janet Falk (janet@janetlfalk.com) or Dottie Jeffries (dottiejeffries@gmail.com) of the Roosevelt Island Business Networking Group to add your name, company and services to the list submitted in November 2014. Deadline is Friday, October 30, 2015

Ms Falk is a Roosevelt Island resident and Public Relations professional.

... Their mission is to rescue everyone on board and get them safely to the ground below.

Back in 2006, the tram became stuck with dozens of people on board. In that case, the FDNY used a diesel-powered bucket to rescue those onboard. Since then, the tram has undergone a $25 million renovation that changed how the tram works. Therefore, these firefighters train for how to safely rescue those trapped without the use of one of those diesel buckets....

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation ("RIOC" or “Owner”) is seeking a panel of law firms with a practice in real estate construction and capital development. Specifically, RIOC seeks Development Counsel for development projects on Roosevelt Island. Development Counsel shall advise, assist and represent RIOC with respect to real estate transactions, litigation, land use, environmental review, housing and commercial matters, negotiations with developers, lessors, licensees and other governmental bodies, and such other special projects as RIOC may from time to time assign. After RIOC’s selection and engagement of a law firm or firms, the successful contractor (the “Contractor”) is expected to provide all personnel, materials and equipment, and perform all scope of work items, as indicated in the Scope of Work.

Neither the submission of a response to this RFP by any entity nor the acceptance of such response by RIOC will obligate RIOC in any manner whatsoever. RIOC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received in response to this RFP. Legal obligations will only arise upon execution of a formal contract by RIOC and the entity/entities selected by RIOC...

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation ("RIOC" or “Owner”) is seeking a panel of law firms with a practice in Labor and Employment Law. Specifically, RIOC seeks Labor and Employment Law Counsel to advise, assist and represent RIOC (on an as needed basis), as management, on matters pertaining to, inter alia, collective bargaining and labor and employment law-related issues. RIOC employs approximately 120 employees, including approximately 75 union employees pursuant to three collective bargaining agreements (Local 210, Local 32B/J, and PSOBA). After RIOC’s selection and engagement of a law firm or firms, the successful contractor (the “Contractor”) is expected to provide all personnel, materials and equipment, and perform all scope of work items, as indicated in the Scope of Work....

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer described how her interest in the NYC Tech Scene began. She recounted the fight between former NYC Council Member Christine Quinn and Council Member Bill deBlasio (now the Mayor) for NYC Council Speaker. Ms. Brewer supported Mr. deBlasio, he lost, resulting in Ms Brewer appointed to the Technology Committee by Speaker Quinn, which at the time was a terrible committee to be on. Times have changed.

Cornell Tech's Jane Swanson reviewed the progress made on commitments made by Cornell Tech to the Roosevelt Island community.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a meeting of the Operations Advisory Committee of the RIOC Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. at the RIOC administrative office, 591 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, New York.

AGENDA:

1. Review of Current Projects
2. Discussion of the Lot Behind the Coler Hospital
3. Discussion of the Lighthouse Park
4. Any Other Committee Business That May be Brought Before the Committee

***

The Open Meetings Law of the State of New York requires that all public bodies conduct meetings, convened for the purpose of officially conducting public business, in a manner open to attendance by the general public to observe and listen.

The RIOC Operations Advisory Committee earlier this year discussed need to clean up the Coler Parking lot area and jurisdictional issues regarding whether RIOC or NYC Health & Hospitals Corp controls the area.

Also, the RIOC Governance Committee will meet on Thursday October 15. According to the Agenda:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a meeting of the Governance Committee of the RIOC Board of Directors will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. at the RIOC administrative office, 591 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, New York.

AGENDA

Chair's Motion for Executive Session to Discuss the Employment History of Particular Person(s).

Any Other Committee Business That May be Brought Before the Committee.

***

The Open Meetings Law of the State of New York requires that all public bodies conduct meetings, convened for the purpose of officially conducting public business, in a manner open to attendance by the general public.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

... MNN presents a new series of videos to help you find places of quiet respite in the midst of the calamity and rush that characterizes New York City life.

“Finding Silence in New York City” is a new series from MNN Productions to help you take a deep breath, unwind, and enjoy the silence. With five videos each presenting a unique NYC locale, savor them whenever you’re in need of a restorative period of silence and peace.

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WELCOME TO ROOSEVELT ISLAND

Welcome to the Roosevelt Islander Online!

Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.